10 Essential Dining Experiences in Queens

Though getting to many parts of Queens from Midtown is quicker than going to the West Village or Lower East Side, convincing non-Queens dwellers to venture to New York’s biggest borough often requires ridiculous negotiation skills. If there’s one surefire way of seducing them into crossing the East River (or taking a sluggish G train up from Brooklyn), however, it’s food.

You won’t find a more robust concentration of cultures in the city, which translates into an abundance of authentic—and often reasonably priced—immigrant grub waiting to be explored. But these days, Queens’ charm goes beyond homespun global cooking, too. As more hipsters discover the joys of, say, living off the 7 train, stylish modern American joints are fast becoming part of the borough’s culinary landscape.

In reality, it’s impossible to call yourself a New York gourmand if your only experience with the borough is a couple dim-sum outings in Flushing. Time to broaden your horizons—here are 10 essential Queens eating experiences.

Written by Alia Akkam (@theqnote)

Though getting to many parts of Queens from Midtown is quicker than going to the West Village or Lower East Side, convincing non-Queens dwellers to venture to New York’s biggest borough often requires ridiculous negotiation skills. If there’s one surefire way of seducing them into crossing the East River (or taking a sluggish G train up from Brooklyn), however, it’s food.
You won’t find a more robust concentration of cultures in the city, which translates into an abundance of authentic—and often reasonably priced—immigrant grub waiting to be explored. But these days, Queens’ charm goes beyond homespun global cooking, too. As more hipsters discover the joys of, say, living off the 7 train, stylish modern American joints are fast becoming part of the borough’s culinary landscape.
In reality, it's impossible to call yourself a New York gourmand if your only experience with the borough is a couple dim-sum outings in Flushing. Time to broaden your horizons—here are 10 essential Queens eating experiences.Written by Alia Akkam (@theqnote)

Chao Thai Too

Neighborhood: Elmhurst
Address and phone: 83-47 Dongan Ave (718-424-9888)
Despite its wee size, Elmhurst’s Chao Thai consistently packs crowds on the hunt for flavors embodying that holy quartet of Thai cooking: sweet, sour, salty, and spicy. Its gleaming second outpost, Chao Thai Too, just a stone’s throw away, is sprawling by comparison, making it a better bet for settling in with warm, fiery ground pork larb. Then, move on to pad prik king pla duk foo, ground catfish fried and melded with green beans in red curry paste. This fresh and texturally rich dish delivers Thai cuisine’s quest for balance at its best.

Uncle Zhou

Neighborhood: Elmhurst
Address and phone: 83-29 Broadway (718-393-0888)
Website:unclezhou.com
It is not possible to dine at Uncle Zhou, a modest Elmhurst storefront, without ordering noodles; it is home to some of the most impressive in New York. Driven by a devotion to Henan—the central province that is simultaneously known as the country’s breadbasket and the birthplace of Chinese civilization—owner Steven Zhou slaps and spins dough into endlessly unfurling ribbons, all hand-cut and cooked perfectly. In one favorite variation, the pliable noodles mingle with bits of tomato, egg, and mushroom. Order a bowl and chopsticks will surely be put down only long enough to snag a protein fix in the form of chile oil-slicked nuggets offered by the “big tray chicken”—another essential order.

Tortilleria Nixtamal

Neighborhood: Corona
Address and phone: 104-05 47th Ave (718-699-2434)
Website:tortillerianixtamal.com
At this Corona factory/taqueria, owners Fernando Ruiz and Shauna Page save the masses from powdered, sub-par masa by making their own time-intensive dough from soaked and ground corn. Eating at this cheerful Mexican Coke-fueled hangout, then, means ordering anything that features the ethereal tortillas and tamale dough that the housemade masa spawns, such as rajas tacos stuffed with queso and roasted chilies, and chipotle chicken and pork-dressed tamales. As a bonus for those with a dessert hankering, a stroll down the street will bring up to a tremendous cannoli at Leo’s Latticini (46-02 104th St).

M. Wells Dinette

Neighborhood: Long Island City, Queens
Address and phone: 22-25 Jackson Ave (at MoMA PS1)
Website:momaps1.org/about/mwells
Whether or not you crave a day at the museum, eating Long Island City’s most creative cooking requires a visit to MoMA PS1. This shrine to modern art is where you’ll find Québécois chef Hugue Dufour and his equally inventive food at M. Wells Dinette. Consider the heady blood pudding, at once crispy and creamy and accompanied by fatty morsels of pork and tempered by apple butter, or gnocchi sitting in a bath of crawfish bisque. Just like the airy backdrop—a contemporary vision of a school cafeteria that embraces communal dining—Dufour’s ever-changing menu is joyfully unpredictable.

The Sparrow Tavern

Neighborhood: Astoria
Address and phone: 24-01 29th St (718-606-2260)
Website: thesparrowtavern.com
If only more corner bars were capable of churning out a burger as excellent as Sparrow’s. This dark, mellow Astoria hangout, popular with the neighborhood’s artsy crowd, is home to one of the borough’s best patties, nestled inside a brioche bun. Order it medium rare and it comes out exactly as you hope, with a warm pink center, well seasoned and bursting with juiciness. Skip the Heinz on this one. All you’ll need with this one is an equally desirable mess of rosemary-laced fries.

Wafa's

Neighborhood: Forest Hills
Address and phone: 100-05 Metropolitan Ave (718-880-2055)
Website:wafasfood.com
When Wafa Chami decided to abandon her tiny, primarily takeout-oriented Lebanese joint in Forest Hills for loftier digs nearby, it was a beautiful day for fans of her cooking. Now, the cozy dining room is a place to linger with flaky pies stuffed with minty cheese, and the caramelized onion and lentil-laden bulgur wheat classic, mujadarah. They are the perfect warm-up to a sublimely tender and parsley-strewn rendition of beef and lamb kefta kebab, which receives a jolt of balanced spice in the form of Wafa’s homemade, harissa-like hot sauce.

Fu Run

Neighborhood: Flushing
Address and phone: 4009 Prince St (718-321-1363)
Flushing teems with tempting Chinese restaurants, but only at Fu Run will you be served the big and beautiful Muslim lamb chop, which appears, as it should, on practically every table in the joint. A specialty of Dongbei—the northeastern region formerly known as Manchuria—this chop is really more an accordion of meaty, fatty, slither-off-the-bone ribs housed under a crunchy crust of sesame and pungent whole cumin seeds. Even the side dish is delicious, not that you'll have much room: sliced potatoes riddled with spicy green peppers.

Café Triskell

Neighborhood: Astoria
Address and phone: 33-04 36th Ave (718-472-0612)
Website:cafetriskell.com
On the Long Island City-Astoria border, petite Café Triskell lures with its inviting menu of French classics. There are heaping bowls of mussels à la Nage and tender braised short ribs over mashed potatoes. And then there are the buckwheat crepes. Chef Philippe Falait makes both savory and sweet versions, but it’s his lemon and sugar confection—bright, zesty, and crisp—that exemplifies his mastery of French simplicity.

Vesta

Neighborhood: Astoria
Address and phone: 21-02 30th Ave (718-545-5550)
Website:vestavino.com
The lasagna draped in a six-hour-cooked ragu would be reason enough to pay Astoria Italian eatery Vesta a visit. So would the poached eggs and soppressata served atop grilled bread during brunch. But the one dish that must be ordered here, day or night, is the meal’s finale: Baby Jesus cake. Sticky toffee sauce clings to a slab of warm date cake and the gooey results—amplified by a generous dollop of fresh, cool cream—are, as its name implies, nothing short of heavenly. Impending warm weather bonus: the arrival of Baby Jesus ice cream, in which bits of the signature cake dot a scoop of semifreddo.

Sweetleaf

Neighborhood: Long Island City
Address and phone: 10-93 Jackson Ave (917-832-6726)
Website:sweetleaflic.com
For caffeine obsessives, a stop at Sweetleaf if mandatory. Baristas at the neighborhood hangout pull perfect cappuccinos and make an intense, New Orleans-style iced coffee with chicory and maple syrup called Rocket Fuel. At its newest location (there's one in Brooklyn too), at the bottom of a flashy LIC condo building, coffee cocktails are poured as frequently as cold-brews thanks to a collaboration with Richard Boccato, owner of nearby craft cocktail bar Dutch Kills. Among the unique and invigorating libations is the Long Island City Special, with blackstrap rum, coffee liqueur, agave syrup, seltzer, and fresh lime juice. Rich, refreshing, and bitter, it's the perfect warm-up for a long night ahead.

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